GOP boss: Racial song a distraction

The distribution of a song titled "Barack the Magic Negro" by a candidate for chairman of the national Republican Party has created an unnecessary distraction as the party rebuilds, Virginia GOP chairman Jeff Frederick said yesterday.

"There's a lot of things we need to be fighting about, and this isn't one of them," Frederick said in an interview.

On another matter, Frederick complained that critics of the Republican Party use a double standard when judging political outreach to minorities.

Tennessee political operative Chip Saltsman, one of six candidates for the GOP's national chairmanship, mailed a CD last month to members of the Republican National Committee that included the song about President-elect Barack Obama that was featured on Rush Limbaugh's radio program.

Frederick is one of 168 committee members who will vote in the chairmanship race Jan. 30 in Washington. He has not endorsed any of the candidates.

Frederick said Saltsman didn't "mean any harm" in distributing the song by conservative comedian Paul Shanklin, which refers to a March 2007 opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times by David Ehrenstein headlined "Obama the 'Magic Negro.'"

In the article, Ehrenstein argued that voting for Obama helped white voters alleviate guilt over racial wrongs in the past.

Shanklin sings the parody to the tune of "Puff, the Magic Dragon" by impersonating the Rev. Al Sharpton. The lyrics include: "Barack the Magic Negro made guilty whites feel good/They'll vote for him and not for me/Cause he's not from the 'hood.'"

Other Republicans have blasted Saltsman, who was chairman of Republican Mike Huckabee's presidential campaign.

RNC Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan, who is seeking re-election, said he was "shocked and appalled that anyone would think this is appropriate."

South Carolina Republican Party chair Katon Dawson, also in the race, said Saltsman made a mistake in mailing the CD. "That doesn't have any place in the public discourse," he said.

Frederick plans to watch the six candidates square off Monday in a debate in Washington sponsored by the conservative group Americans for Tax Reform.

Some Republicans fear the CD mailing will hurt the party's outreach to minority voters, a group it has struggled for years to attract.

But Frederick said the party's critics use a double standard when judging outreach to minorities.

When Democrats put black officials in prominent positions, they are applauded for being diverse, he said.

"When we do the same thing, it's, 'Oh, they got their token black guy. They got their Uncle Tom.' There's a double standard there," he said.

"We have to work extra hard to appear as we're not doing it just for the camera," Frederick said.

Saltsman, the candidate who mailed the CD, did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. In a posting on his blog, he complained that his critics "didn't utter a word" about the 2007 column in the Los Angeles Times.

"I know that our party leaders should stand up against the media's double standards and refuse to pander to their desire for scandal," he wrote.

The two black candidates in the GOP chairmanship race, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and former Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, appeared supportive of Saltsman after the CD scandal broke.

Steele said Saltmsan's "attempt at humor was clearly misplaced," but it does not make him "indifferent to the important work of building the coalitions necessary to make our party stronger."

Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis also is seeking the national GOP chairmanship.
Contact Neil H. Simon at (202) 662-7669 or .

The Associated Press contributed to this report.